Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Note: Since 2010, Chief Bloggers, Robin
Wilson and I, along with Associate Bloggers, David Prescott and Jon Brandt, and
dozens of guest bloggers, have turned out 239 blogs with over 300,000 total
page views. As a clinician and writer,
Jon Brandt has been contributing to the Sexual
Abuse Blog and The Forum newsletter
since 2012. With today’s blog, Jon is
stepping down as an ATSA blogger, but readers will see occasional guest blogs
and other writing from Jon in the future. - Kieran

While it’s not an official moto of ATSA,
the first time I heard someone describe the quest for, “safer communities and
better lives,” I remember thinking isn’t that the essence of what we should all
be striving for? Regardless of our role
in the prevention and treatment of sexual abuse, it seems the catchphrase of Safer Communities & Better Lives
could help to realize more successful outcomes – for every victim, for and
every offender, for their families and friends, and for communities. When we underreact or overreact to sexual misconduct,
the result might be neither safer communities nor better lives. What’s being missed is not just equitable
balance, but the fact that safer communities and better lives are not mutually
exclusive. We can realize BOTH Safer Communities AND Better Lives. “Creating Balance” is the theme of ATSA’s 36th
Annual Conference.

“When will our consciences grow so tender
that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Current social rules and laws around
interpersonal sexual behavior have roots in 20th Century sexual
mores, widespread myths about sexual offending, and the co-occurring faulty
narratives. Hardly a day goes by without
a media story about egregious sexual misconduct. But it’s encouraging that, in the 21st
Century, such reports frequently result in a social media firestorm, like “#MeToo.” Consider how we can create more productive dialogue
for more effective interventions and prevention with these…

Ten Narratives for Achieving Safer Communities & Better
Lives

1. Victim advocates,
treatment providers, and other stakeholders are becoming unified for the same
common goal: the prevention of sexual abuse.

7. The public
widely believes that: “sex offenders” are intrinsically evil, recidivism is “frightening and high,” and the
answer is incarceration. Evil is not a
diagnosis, and punishment is not a cure.
Overwhelmingly, offenders want help for recovery. We know how to do that.

8. Public policies
and civil regulations for “sex offenders” resemble the Dark Ages practices of public
scorn and banishment. “They” come from “us” - they are our sons, brothers,
fathers, neighbors… and they come from
all walks of society.

10. Misguided policies
and practices come from misinformation. When
people are educated about sexual abuse we can realize Safer Communities & Better Lives. It takes a
village.

Several years ago, knowing that half
of all sexual assaults are infused with alcohol, and that men are
responsible for the majority of sexual violations, I wrote, “Is it possible
that every guy is a six-pack of beer and one bad judgement away from being a
sex offender?” A lot of men told me they
cringed when they read that. As long as
boys become men, “male” is a robust risk factor associated with sexual
violations.

The
“Rule of 90” is a handy way to change the narrative about sexual abuse:

About 95% of sexual abuse is committed by males. We need to better understand social,
cultural, and biological etiologies of sexual abuse. There
are many stakeholders, but men need to own this, and mentor boys.

About 95% of sexual offenses are
committed by previously
unknown offenders. Resources committed
to known offenders could be better spent on primary prevention.

Perhaps it could be called the rule
of 95, but the “Rule of 90” allows some wiggle room for errors in data
and reporting. Even if we can’t
achieve accuracy on the rate of sexual reoffending, we know that the prevalence
of sexual misconduct, around the world, is indeed, frightening and high. Myths about recidivism being “frightening
and high,” continues to drive misguided policies and practices.

“For every complicated social problem there
is an easy solution, which won’t work.” -
H. L. Mencken

Laws rooted in fear and anger propagate
anger and fear. Civil regulations (i.e. sex
offender registries, residence restrictions, and sexual
offender civil commitment) are rooted in erroneous rates of recidivism, strain
the true cost-benefit ratio of effectiveness, and contribute to false narratives
about community safety. There is strong
evidence that civil
regulations are unwarranted, and growing concerns in US courts that some regulations
of “sex offenders” violate the
US Constitution.

The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has endorsed the
false narrative of “frightening
and high” rates of sexual recidivism, but recently issued a surprising, unanimous
ruling to limit government overreach in the management of “sex offenders.” Packingham v. North Carolina
has nationwide implications for the right
to Internet access. In another compelling
ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Does v.
Snyder, issued a scathing
rebuke of Michigan’s civil regulations. In unanimously finding Michigan’s SORA laws unconstitutional,
Circuit Judge Alice Batchelder wrote, “Tellingly,
nothing the parties have pointed to in the record suggests that the residential
restrictions have any beneficial effect on recidivism rates… [It] brands registrants as moral lepers
solely on the basis of a prior conviction. It consigns them to years, if not a lifetime,
of existence on the margins.” In
2017, SCOTUS let
Snyder stand. The Boston College Law
Review writes, “Snyder is a shining example of a court actually
engaging with scientific evidence that refutes moralized judgments about a
particularly disfavored group.” Judicial
courage can change the narrative, but the courts alone cannot fix systemic
problems.

Judges, prosecutors, probation
officers and corrections agents may have little leeway with imposing mandated civil
regulations, but they typically have great discretion over prosecution,
sentencing, release, and conditions of probation or parole. False narratives of “frightening
and high,” that drive policies and practices, can be overcome with
empirical evidence. ATSA members who know
the research can inform our allied professionals, and help to ensure that
empirically-based practices are applied to every client.

“Do the best you can until you know better, then, when you know better,
do better.” - Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou’s famous quote doesn’t
suggest that when we know better we “can” do better, but implies that when we
know better we “should” do better. ATSA
is in a unique position to change the
narrative. Safer Communities & Better Lives will come from researchers who
are providing the empirical evidence that we need to establish best practices, from
clinicians, who are on the frontlines of treatment, and from many allied
professions who are working to ensure justice and equitable outcomes for
victims, offenders, and their
families. People who work in this
field are not apologists for “sex offenders.” Treatment for those who have sexually offended
does not come at the expense of victims; it honors them.

“Everything will be okay in the end; if it’s
not okay, it’s not the end.” - John Lennon

A colleague on the ATSA listserv recently
observed, about the evolving state of our field, “If we are not appalled at
what we did 20 years ago, we have not worked hard enough to be better.” Perhaps we should tweak that sentiment a bit… if we suspect that current policies and
practices are contradicted
by existing research, let’s not wait 20 years to be appalled. Now would be a good time to bring policies and
practices in line with empirical evidence.
If challenging status quo feels professionally risky, perhaps too far
ahead of colleagues where one practices, ATSA’s got your back. We need only to know the research, step into our
fears, and follow the lead of
ATSA experts. There’s a whole bunch
of them in
Kansas City this week. By working
together, and Creating Balance, we
can truly realize Safer Communities &
Better Lives.

“Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only
thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead

I am very grateful to Robin Wilson
and ATSA for the privilege and opportunity to be an ATSA blogger. And much appreciation to current co-bloggers,
Kieran McCartan and David Prescott, for the team effort to bring (hopefully) thought-provoking
blogs to ATSA members.
It’s been a great run, but “it’s not the end.”

Friday, October 20, 2017

The recent, often deeply courageous
statements and disclosures about sexual abuse, sexual
assault, and sexualised behaviour on social media over the last week since
the start of the Harvey Weinstein allegations should not shock us. They conform
what we already knew, that there is a normalisation of sexual abuse and harassment
in our culture.

Over the last couple of years there
has been a steady expansion in the number of people affected by sexualised behaviour
coming forward, some related to historical cases while some is contemporary.
What this indicates is that people feel more confident in coming forward, more
confident that they will be believed as well as supported, more confident that
the system will respond appropriately and better able to engage socially on the
topic. At the same time, there is no denying the bravery behind each
disclosure; the stakes are as high as they are unpredictable.

Consequently, the movement
towards greater transparency and disclosure brings a multiplier effect. That is,
the more that people come forward and talk about sexual harm, the more it’s
exposed and – therefore – the more that abuse gets reported. As a society, we
start to realise that our idealised social norm of “no abuse” is not the
reality, that sexual harm is occurring on a daily basis across our communities locally,
nationally and globally; therefore, we need to work harder and smarter in responding to it.

While the most recent
conversation about the reality and impact of sexual harm focuses on Hollywood,
it reflects what we have seen in the world of sport, social care, religious
organisations, politics, and education. Once we started to have the
conversation about sexual harm, we realised that all same thing was happening
cross organisationally, cross culturally, and internationally. The story is all
too familiar: it is about power and control, it’s about taking advantage, it is
about perceptive social norms, low level sexism and social acceptability. It is
about similar people and actions in different contexts! If we think about the
parallels between the different contexts we are talking about men (mainly, but
not always) in powerful roles that can take advantage of individuals (mainly
women, but not always because men have come forward too) desires to achieve
something (achieve in an industry or promise of a better life) and offer them a
way to achieve it with caveats (sexual abuse, blackmail manipulation) resulting
in the victims being placed in an impossible situation that is often perceived
as the norm (identified through their multi experiences of the same thing at
different times in the same industry and similar stories from their peers) that
gets internalised, accepted and normalised. Once we started talking about
institutionalised sexual harm in care homes and sport, why did we not think
that it would be the same in other areas?

The question is how do we
respond? Just like Jimmy Saville, Jerry Sandusky, and too many members of the
Catholic Church, Harvey Weinstein is not the only sexual predator in
entertainment. This is larger societal issue and taps into the roots of our
normative social practices, relationships, boundaries and values.

Perhaps most difficult to
consider is that many of those for whom there is strong evidence of wrongdoing
– Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, Donald Trump, and many others – are or have been
respected as public figures. Whatever one’s leanings, the truth about who has
abused can be deeply painful. Indeed, that is one of the many ways that abuse
is pernicious and harmful.

Our current situation will not
change overnight. The brave people standing up to post “#metoo” are a great start as their actions reveal the scale and
impact of the issue at street level. We need to turn this outpouring into a
constructive response that prevents sexual harm and changes the support social
norms. Violence, including sexual abuse, is just not acceptable. If we’ve
learned anything over the past two decades, it’s that sometimes the most practical
action one can take is to speak up and speak out.We need to promote the message of a zero tolerance
approach to all forms of sexual abuse and violence wherever it is happening and
we need to promote and support prevention approaches that will address the
problem at the earliest possible opportunity, in schools, in families and in
our communities.

Friday, October 13, 2017

The
United States Department of Education (DoE) withdrew statements of policy and
guidance for colleges and universities on Sexual Violence in September 2017. The
DoE also issued new guidelines that substantially changes the interpretation
provided under the previous administration.These new guidelines will be available for comment in the near future.Title IX’s intent isto help keep all students safe by allowing
them to live without fear of violence—by charging colleges and universities
with providing prompt and equitable responses to sexual harassment, sexual
abuse, and sexual violence. While indeed a tall order, the use of Title IX has
been remarkable as a pioneer effort to combine what we know about the impacts
of violence and trauma with the ability to pursue certain rights, such as
education—understanding that no one really can work or study when they are
afraid or hurt. Although Title IX initially gained popularity in 1972 through
its use to address gender-based discrimination in sports, it has provided a critical
foundation to address other barriers based on gender that interfere with one’s
equal opportunities and rights.

The
Campus Advocacy & Prevention Professionals Association (CAPPA) wrote in
their CAPPA Position Statement on Title IX Implementation for Campus Sexual
Assault:

“Prevention
professionals have at their fingertips solid evidence-informed strategies for educating
students in this realm. These are focused on what decades of scholarship tell us
about what factors are associated with harming others, especially in late
adolescents and young adults, who comprise the majority of our students. These
include both individual-level risk factors like a preference for impersonal sex
and hostile masculinity, as well as community-level risk factors like general
tolerance for sexual violence and weak community sanctions for sexual violence.
It is our responsibility as student affairs and allied professionals to address
the full range of risk factors in order to enable our students to live safely
and thrive, not just on our campuses but in their family systems and
post-education lives.”

As
members of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA)’s
Prevention Committee we know through experiencethat we can make a difference when there is accessible, and
knowledgeable support and treatment – especially when problematic behaviors are
identified early. We can offer help to young adults struggling with their own
sexual behaviors, personal boundaries, and troubling concerns; and campuses can become
more safe for all students. Training is a crucial element of providing equitable
responses. We understand that it is unfair
and ineffective for college administration to be held accountable to create a
safe environment without being given the training, preparation, and tools to
know what to look for in high risk situations, how to assess risk in reports of
misconduct or assault, or how to even engage its population in responsible
bystander interventions and self-care behaviors. The answer isn’t to diminish
the call to action of Title IX but rather to build its capacity to actually
create sustainable change and reduce sexual violence and its harm on everyone impacted.

We can do better; Secretary
DeVos is right – talking about sexual assault is a difficult and uncomfortable
conversation, yet one that we are morally responsible to have and to get right.
It is imperative to have conversations that illuminate our understanding of
what it will take to create safe environments for all students. As a society at
large, and as institutions of higher learning responsible for the safety of an
estimated 20 million enrolled students, we have an ethical obligation to do
better than eliminate the very processes that hold us accountable for the
safety and well-being of anyone seeking an education.

We can do better; asTitle IX
provides a map for strengthening campus’s ability to practice and support safe
and healthy boundaries and behaviors. Rather than disregarding or even
eliminating Title IX’s responsibilities to provide responsible, honorable and
protective responses to any concern of sexual harm, officials and campus
leadership need to collectively guide the creation and maintenance oflearning environments that promote respect,
empathy, understanding and above all – safety.

We can do better;through ensuring that officials conducting investigations and hearing
processes are provided annual and ongoing training on evidence informed
understanding of what may contribute to sexual abuse, dating violence, domestic
violence, sexual harassment, sexual assault and stalking.All
students do deserve a fair and impartial process.It is important to ensure that practices
pertaining to investigations and hearings are fair. We need to respond with balance, without labeling
individuals as sexual predators or "monsterizing" anyone accused of
sexual misconduct in ways that they can't recover from. We need to develop resources
that allow both the accuser and the accused to continue their education while
the investigationcontinues and ensures that punishments are not
administered before a finding has been achieved. Schools are already required
to do this through Title IX guidance and the Clery Act. The Clery Act requires
that “proceedings must afford a “prompt, fair, and impartial process from the
initial investigation to the final result” – with trained and non-biased
officials. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-federal-jeanne-clery-act-already-addresses-many_us_59bb128ce4b06b71800c37f7https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/handbook.pdf

We can do better; we must use what we know about college
campus life to institute proactive and protective measures, resources and
responses. We know that the college campus culture is one that may lend itself
to acts of heightened impulsivity and more risk taking behaviors. The youth and
young adults on these campuses are still experiencing intellectual, emotional and
physical development changes that may
contribute to other (environmental, social and personal) risks that may lead to
sexually harmful behaviors.

In campus
culture, there are risks of many forms of sexual misconduct, and if schools use
the opportunity to intervene earlier, then everyone will benefit. Colleges and
universities have the opportunity to intervene in all forms and all levels of
sexual misconduct with responses that are individualized yet hold to standards
of safety, well-being and equality. By taking early advantage of these
opportunities, we can set a different social norm that does not wait until a
sexual assault or rape is reported. In fact, schools are responsible for
understanding and addressing this, and do all they can do to "eliminate the hostile environment,
prevent its recurrence, and, as appropriate, remedy its effects”, as stated in
Title IX. Prevention must be part of a school’s obligation. (Citation: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/qa-201404-title-ix.pdf) .

We can do better; for courageous survivors of sexual assault
seeking responses that are not only validating and respectful, but also address
security needs. Sexual assault remains vastly under-reported we need to
understand that there are many victims of sexual assaults both on and off our
college campuses, deserving of justice and respect.

We can do better; by recognizing that medical and mental
health services for students are critical for safety planning. Treatment and
recovery supports for victims will only help strengthen a campus community, and
for any youth or adult recognizing their own risk of harm to others and who
bravely seeks out help, providing skilled resources is part of any
comprehensive prevention plan. Treatment
services and resources for individuals with sexual behavior problems can help
individuals move forward with their lives and allow them to interact as
productive members of society.http://www.atsa.com/sexual-offense-specific-treatment.

We can do better; by having productive conversations that
are informed by research, best practices and experience. Listening to every
person affected by violence informs all of us of both compassionate and
restorative steps to pursue, not only focusing on retribution. We know restorative justice brings about
healing and change unlike retributive justice which brings only punishment. http://www.cscsb.org/restorative_justice/retribution_vs_restoration.html

We can do better; we know this is not the time to scale back
Title IX requirements. Rather it is time to fully embrace and embed a
commitment to improve our practices and dedicate our resources and knowledge to
improving the safety, liberty, and well-being of everyone across all
environments, including institutions for high learning.

Friday, October 6, 2017

The National
Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence (NPEIV): Global Partners for Peace Annual Forum was
held on Saturday September 23, 2017 in beautiful San Diego, California. NPEIV is a multidisciplinary
collaboration of professionals, organizations and community members with the
mission of making the prevention of all forms of interpersonal violence (e.g.,
sexual abuse/violence, child abuse, intimate partner/domestic abuse, elder abuse)
a national priority and to encourage healthy relationships by linking science,
practice, policy and advocacy. This was the 9th year for the Forum
(formally Think Tank) and another successful coming together of people from
around the world focused on ending all forms of interpersonal violence across
the lifespan.

This year’s Forum began with recognition of prior
leadership and the growth of the organization over the past ten years as
highlighted by the addition of an Executive Board and a formal welcome to the
first elected NPEIV president, Viola Vaughan-Eden.Guest speakers Reco Bembry spoke about
fundraising and philanthropy within a purpose driven economy, and Katherine
Chon spoke on preventing and disrupting human trafficking victimization. The NPEIV National Plan was also highlighted, with an
emphasis on the almost two hundred organizational and individual endorsements
for the Plan.

NPEIV has seven actions teams (Public Awareness,
Training & Mentoring, Research, Practice, Public Policy,
Dissemination/Translation, Global Peace) focused on tackling all forms of
interpersonal violence and supporting the mission of the National Plan, a fully referenced
treatise of recommendations based in research, best practices, and
common sense to further NPEIV's mission of ending interpersonal violence across
the lifespan. Each action
team met for the majority of the day to strategize and prioritize their agenda
and activities for the upcoming year, with a final reporting of next steps to
all attendees at the conclusion of the Forum.

As the Senior Chair of the Public Policy Action
Team (AT5), it was wonderful to see the energy and interest from ongoing and
new attendees at our meeting. In addition to continued work on proposed federal
legislation focused on requiring training of all forms of interpersonal violence
within undergraduate and graduate programs, development of an overarching
statement for community engagement related to policy and reaching out to
potential partnership organizations within each member’s community were
identified as primary goals for AT5 members for the upcoming year. The intent
of this community outreach is to develop stronger relationships with grassroots
and community level programs and organizations directly involved with those
impacted by interpersonal violence in order to facilitate mutual learning and
strengthen the ability for policies to meet the needs of our diverse and unique
communities. Continued work on research based policy was also an area of
discussion, as well as strategies for incorporating trauma informed concepts
into policy and the ongoing work on current areas of focus (e.g., corporal
punishment, sexual abuse, intimate partner violence).

Activities of other action teams for the upcoming
year included, but are definitely not limited to, effective linking of research
to practice through the Violence Research Digest, creation of an easily
accessible database of trauma practitioners to assist consumers in locating
providers within their region, development of an NPEIV blog, strategies for
addressing interpersonal violence at the international level, and continued
work on the development of the Handbook of Interpersonal Violence Across the
Lifespan.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my involvement
with NPEIV over the past four years has been the networking and opportunities
to learn from individuals across all disciplines, many of whom I may not have
had the opportunity to connect with otherwise (e.g., medical professionals,
members of the military, community members). To reach our shared goal of
prevention, breaking down the silos in which we often become stuck and having
dialogue without agenda across disciplines is the only way we will ever be
successful – and I think NPEIV, as an umbrella partnership of numerous
organizations, agencies, and individuals working to end interpersonal violence
nationally and internationally, creates a safe venue for these sometimes
difficult conversations, yet integral partnerships, to take place, develop and
continue to grow.

Kieran McCartan, PhD

Chief Blogger

David Prescott, LICSW

Associate blogger

Translate

The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (http://atsa.com/) is an international, multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse. Through research, education, and shared learning ATSA promotes evidence based practice, public policy and community strategies that lead to the effective assessment, treatment and management of individuals who have sexually abused or are risk to abuse.

The views expressed on this blog are of the bloggers and are not necessarily those of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research & Treatment, or Sage Journals.

Disclaimer

ATSA does not endorse, support, represent or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any Content posted. ATSA does not necessarily or automatically endorse any opinions expressed within this blog. You understand that by reading this blog, you may be exposed to content or opinions that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate. Under no circumstances will ATSA be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content or opinions posted, emailed, transmitted, or otherwise made available via this blog.